Usable Social Science

Abstract

This book, written by a sociologist and a banking executive, is intended to bring together strands of social-science research that are usable in organizational decision making, fashioning social policy, and dealing with social problems. Topics include space-time constraints on social behavior, cognition, and bias; sanctions and behavior; groups and networks; dynamics of organization; principles of economic development; and research methods. For each of these topics, many relevant lines are assembled and made as relevant to the “real world” as possible. The final two chapters deal, first, with the sources of societal demands for social-science knowledge in an increasingly complex world and, second, with the supply of such knowledge by academics, think tanks, and consulting organizations. Throughout the book, the authors attempt to steer a realistic middle course between two extremes: “quick-fix” promises of social-scientific knowledge and dismissal of the uses of such knowledge. The intended audiences of the book are decision makers and policy makers; faculty and students, especially in professional schools; and the educated and concerned public.

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